


A Sad Soul Song

by DoctorMerlinReid



Series: Wally West Soulmates [1]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Cheating, F/M, age gap, soul song
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 09:05:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15240021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorMerlinReid/pseuds/DoctorMerlinReid
Summary: Most everyone is born with a Soul Song. It's a song that plays on loop in your head from the day you're born. Your Soulmate has the same Soul Song as you do. Having the same Soul Song, having a Soulbond, isn't everything though.





	A Sad Soul Song

WWWWWW

For the longest time, Wally hadn't known that it was strange to have a sad Soul Song. For his entire life, his Soul Song had been tinted in a sort of sadness that lent a heaviness to his actions and a slight frown to his countenance. Large, dramatic notes swept through his memories and keening chords echoed his own sadness. Sounds slipped from one to the next, falling in a crescendo of darkness and an aching pain that became normal to Wally from a young age.

It wasn't until the summer before high school, actually, that someone even really noticed.

It was common practice for people to lightly hum their Soul Songs. The most common way to find a Soulmate was for them to overhear the Soul Song, to feel it match with their own. Wally had always liked that practice himself and performed it often. It wasn't like anyone was really listening to him anyways.

Wally was sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle for that summer and, for the first time, someone really listened to him. He was humming the song softly, the sad notes fitting comfortably along his tongue, a familiar sound.

Uncle Barry frowned at him and leaned forward, "What're you humming, kiddo? I don't recognize that song."

Wally had blinked up at his uncle, "It's my Soul Song."

His Aunt and Uncle glanced at each other momentarily, something infinitely sad passing between them. They were the first ones who explained what a sad Soul Song meant. Aunt Iris had settled on the chair next to Wally, "Wally, sweetie, there's a… There is science behind Soul Songs. A lot of the time, the… feeling of the Soul Song will dictate what the relationship is like. Someone with a really happy Soul Song will have a very happy go-lucky relationship. Someone with a very, oh I don't know, fight song like Soul Song like your Uncle and I have, will have a relationship that will face hardships, but they'll get through it together."

She paused for a moment and Wally took the moment to point out quietly that, "Aunt I? I have a sad one. Does that mean I'm going to have a sad Soulbond?"

Aunt Iris closed her eyes for a moment before admitting softly, "Yes, sweetie. Your Soul Song is sad, so you and your Soulmate are not fated to have a happy relationship."

Uncle Barry spoke up before Wally could get too discouraged, "Now, that's just what Fate dictates your bond is going be like. In the end, its up to you. If you really want to fight that, then fight it. Make your bond happy. But if you're really not happy, sometimes it's better to just… let go."

Wally had never understood that. As long as he'd known, one didn't just let go of a Soulbond. Sure, he'd heard of people doing that, of rejecting the bond and severing the relationship, but it was always painful for both members of the bond. Who would want to cause their Soulmate pain? It just didn't make sense.

It especially didn't make sense when he realized who his Soulmate was. Artemis was… she was everything. She was his spitfire and his partner, and his teammate and he loved her. It certainly didn't start that way, but it didn't have to.

When they caught each other both humming their Soul Song, it didn't matter that the Song was a sad one. It didn't matter that they were destined for heartbreak and sadness. All that mattered was that they had just defeated the Light and the world was safe, and they'd found the one they were meant to spend the rest of their lives with.

The next few years were a blur of crime fighting and graduating and working around their relationship. They moved in together in Palo Alto and watched proudly as the Team grew larger and larger and more members were added year by year.

Then, the day came where Wally understood his Uncle's words. He understood where it would be better to let his bond go.

His life with Artemis had been so happy. They'd been perfect for each other, twining into each other with undeniable ease and understanding. What Wally didn't know was that she'd been twining into someone else too. When Wally caught her with Roy, heatedly making out on  _their_  couch, Wally hadn't felt anything.

Both Roy (Artemis hated Roy, didn't she? Why him? Why one of Wally's best friends?) and Artemis stared at Wally with horror. The speedster immediately diverted his eyes. He nodded slightly, eyes closing and a single tear falling. Within the next femtosecond, he was gone, nothing but wind and a broken silence left behind him.

Over the next few days, he didn't go out as Kid Flash. He stayed over at Nightwing's place in Bludhaven, refusing to tell his friend what happened. His phone was blowing up with texts from both archers, but Wally ignored them for the time being. People said he wasn't mature, that he couldn't sit for a moment and make decisions. They said that he was reckless and ran into situations without thinking. That had never been true. He just thought significantly faster than everyone else, so it seemed like he didn't take the time to think. This time, though, he sat and thought at normal human speed. This required more thought than he'd had to give to anything before. This was one of the biggest decisions of his life.

Eventually, he mustered up the courage and called both archers, asking them to meet him at his and Artemis's house in Bludhaven. His eyes were shadowed by dark splotches of sleepless nights and red-rimmed with the broken notes of his Soul Song. The first words he said to them was, "Do you love each other?"

It was obvious that they hadn't expected that question. They stared at him with wide eyes, glancing to each other shyly, not sure if it was okay to even sit near each other in his presence. That, though, was answer enough for him. Wally squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep shuddering breath. He heard the pained sounds that his love and his best friend made at the sight. Taking another deep breath, Wally passed a weary hand over his face, "Okay. Okay. Artemis, I love you. You're my everything. You're my world. And Roy, I've known since I first came out as Kid Flash and people kept getting our names mixed up. You're one of my best friends, practically my brother. All I want in life is for you two to be happy. So… so… Artemis. I want to give you my blessings to be in a relationship with Roy, but… you have to do something for me first."

Artemis watched him with those big, beautiful eyes filled with tears, "Wally, I'm sorry."

He raised his hand, "I know. Trust me, I know you wouldn't do this to hurt me. You just don't love me, and you love him. I can't touch that. So, can you do one thing for me?" Off to the side, Roy had his head between his knees, hands clenched above his head. Artemis nodded shakily at Wally. The speedster attempted to smile, but he wasn't sure if his lips even moved. He was just… numb. He licked his lips, and requested, "I want to do a mutual Soulbond rejection."

Roy's head shot up, "No! You can't do that!  _Please_."

By now, Artemis was crying, hands clutched around her midsection. Wally shook his head emphatically, "I've researched this. If someone in a mutual Soulbond rejection is already in love with someone else, then the rejection won't hurt them. Their Soul Song changes to match the person they're in love with. If that person has another Soulmate, then it becomes a three-way bond. Artemis won't be hurt."

Roy actually got up, pacing the floor. He snarled, "You idiot!"

Artemis ran a hand frantically through her hair, "It's not  _me_  we're worried about. Wally, we've already hurt you. We never  _meant_  to hurt you, but we did and that's inexcusable. We don't want to hurt you more. I might not love you romantically, but you're my best friend and I never, ever want to see you hurting. Please, Wally. I'll stop seeing Roy. I'll… I'll…"

Wally stopped her with a hug. He held her tight, this one last time. After a second, he pulled Roy down into the hug to, felt the older ginger shake in the embrace, felt the warm tears dripping down the archer's face. Wally sat back, tears streaking his own face, "I told you already. The only thing that would make me happy is seeing the two of you happy. The pain won't mean anything if I see that you two are perfect for each other. Okay?"

There was a shaky silence, a shadowed truce, and then Artemis's fragile sob, "Okay. I'll do it." Roy dropped his head back down between his knees, hands pushing through his hair angrily. He didn't say anything either. Artemis swallowed down another sob, "Okay. How do we do this?"

"From what I've read, you press your hands together, you think about breaking the Soulbond, and then you hum the Soul Song together. If you get through the whole song, the Soulbond should, theoretically be broken and, for you, Roy's song should start going through your head." Wally responded, holding out his hands for Artemis's. After a long moment of hesitation, Artemis closed her eyes and put her calloused hands in Wally's. Together, they sang the Song that Wally had heard since the moment he first came into the world.

At the end, the Soul Song was gone, silence filling the world. Wally felt like something vital had been taken from him. He gasped quietly, trying to keep everything inside him. He opened his eyes – when had he closed them? – and blinked at the couple across from him. Roy was gripping Artemis's hand, expression tense and pained (but happy too, glowing from the inside, from the feeling of a Soulbond forming). He asked carefully, voice rough, "Are you okay?"

Instead of answering the question, Wally just said, "I need some time to myself. I'm going to… go somewhere. You guys can stay here for however long. I'll be back at some point to grab my stuff. You guys can take the house. I don't… I don't really care." Even he was shocked at how lifeless his voice was. It was hollow and flat with pain.

He stood up, lightning sparking around him. Just before he made it out of the door, he looked back, saw his love and his best friend reaching out for him, not even halfway out of their seats, expression frozen into shock and pain. For a moment, he regretted his decision, but then he saw that slight glow in each other of their faces, that joy at finding the one, the true One. He didn't make the wrong decision. He just didn't expect it to hurt so much.

When he finally stopped running, he realized that it wasn't somewhere he knew. Whatever. He could figure that out later. All that mattered at the moment was that he was alone. That the jungle he had somehow ended up in was loud and torrid in the dark of night, filling up that horrible, empty silence that seemed to have taken over his entire world. It was just him and his thoughts and pain like he'd never known before. Pain and pain and pain and Wallycouldn'tbreatheandeverythinghurtand _why_?

He didn't know how long he sat in that dark jungle, silence seeping into her very bones and killing him from the inside out. All he knew was that, by the end, silence filled his eternity and broken glass made up his heart, shattered dreams draped around him like a suit of armor.

DDDDDD

It didn't take long for Dinah to notice that something was wrong. Rumors travel as fast in the superhero community as they did in high school and it took less than a day for everyone to find out that Wally and Artemis had committed a mutual Soulbond rejection and that Artemis had bonded to Roy instead. Nightwing had been furious.

He'd actually attacked Roy, starting a vicious dog fight that ended with a total of two black eyes, five broken ribs, a sprained wrist, and a twisted ankle. As far as Dinah could tell, the two still weren't talking.

More concerning, though, was the fact that Wally wasn't talking. It was disheartening to see him so silent. It wasn't something that anyone had ever associated with the ginger speedster and it was getting to the entirety of the team. They had never realized how much his jokes helped them relax until they were gone.

The worst part was, Wally didn't even seem to be able to tell that he was going silent and worrying people. He just seemed… numb. That wasn't quite the right word, but Dinah wasn't sure that there was a word. She'd read once that a Soulbond rejection was the equivalency of getting your actual soul torn to pieces. Even imagining that pain sent a wave of shivers through her.

It was that thought that motivated her to go after Wally one night, to follow him home. Luckily, Dick had his address and was more than willing to give it to the Team's counselor. Dick had confided that he'd felt like he wasn't doing enough but didn't know what to do to make his best friend happy again. He'd lamented that he wasn't sure if there was anything that he could do at this point. Dinah had promised to try her best to help Wally.

When she reached his house, there was a single light on, the curtains tightly closed against the gathering dusk. Carefully, Dinah knocked on the door. Nothing but silence answered her actions. Frowning, Dinah leaned her forehead against the front door, calling out quietly, "Wally, can you open the door?"

There was no response other than the shattering of a glass. Concerned, Dinah pushed the door open, even more concerned when it turned out to be unlocked. She walked through the house until she got to the room that had the light on – the kitchen. She watched as Wally grabbed another beer bottle and threw it with all his might. It smashed into the far wall and shattered into a thousand shards on the ground. There was already a collection of broken bottles scattered across the room, creating a minefield for Dinah to pass through to get to Wally.

She picked her way through the debris carefully, half-focusing on the fallen glass and half-focusing on where Wally was still throwing his bottles. When she reached him, she grabbed the next bottle he was planning to throw, taking it out of his hands and setting it down on the table. She noticed that his knuckles were sluggishly moving through the process of healing, skin still knitting together at a much slower rate than usual.

Wally reached half-heartedly for the bottle, sagging when he realized it was out of his reach. Suddenly, he slumped to the floor, too quickly for Dinah to even think about trying to catch him. Expression soft and sad, Dinah crouched down next to him, "Wally, what happened?"

"I can't get drunk." Wally said, shaking slightly.

"Oh Wally." Dinah said, resisting the urge to reach out to him, "Wally, please. This isn't the way to handle grief. I know that you're sad about what happened with Artemis and Roy. Please don't take it out on yourself."

Wally was shaking his head before she even finished, "They're happy. That's all I want. I just… want to hear something again. It's so  _silent_  and everything seems to grating and painful. I heard that alcohol dulls pain. I guess I just need to… I don't know. I don't know." He reached up and buried his fingers in his hair, digging them into the ginger tufts and yanking, tugging until it looked painful.

Almost without thinking, Dinah reached out and grabbed his hand, intending to get him to stop, to comfort him, to  _something_.

She wasn't expecting what she got, though.

Dinah was one of the few rare people who were born without a Soulmate. She had always understood that people heard Soul Songs, but it just wasn't something that she had ever really experienced. She was born without a Song and had never expected to understand that feeling of Sound, of truth, of Life. When she touched Wally for the first time after he broke his old Soul Bond, music burst to life in her mind.

There were startling crescendos, bright bursts of high chords that blending into soft strums of gentle sounds. It was a blend of sparks of light and soft, gentle warmth. It was the lightning that trailed behind Wally when he ran and the heat that radiated from him when he was relaxing on a quiet night.

For a moment, they both froze, staring at each other with startled eyes. Dinah wanted to jump back, but she knew that the floor was littered in beer bottles still. She didn't want to hurt herself. But she didn't want to stay there. This was… this wasn't supposed to happen. What just happened?

Did she just Soulbond with Wally? She wasn't meant to have a Soulmate though. Wally's Soulmate was Artemis. That was how it was supposed to work. This was… this was messed up and twisted and confusing. What was going on?

Wally was staring at her in abject horror, expression drawn, but pain no longer lining the corners of his eyes. This wasn't how this was supposed to happen. Dinah knew that a Soulbond was supposed to be perfect, a moment of happiness that was meant to last for an eternity. This was something that was different than anything Dinah had ever heard of.

Then Wally's expression shifted, settling into something calm and centered that bordered on contentment. It was almost beautiful how easily Wally's expression settled into that easy-going countenance that the entire Team knew like that back of their hands.

With Wally obviously getting a handle on the moment, Dinah felt a part of her relax, too. The stress melted away and her shoulders de-tensed. They could handle this. They were two superheroes who had been working together on the Team for years. They'd known each other even longer since Roy and Wally had become such good friends. The two of them knew each other. They could work this out.

And looking at the way the kitchen light shadowed Wally's face, looking at the light igniting his flaming red hair, Dinah thought that maybe falling in love with Wally wouldn't be all that hard.

**Author's Note:**

> There's this fic called 'Wally West Pairing Suggestions' by AnbuFoxKit on fanfiction.net and I figured I'd try my hand at a soulmate AU with one of the pairings from this fic.


End file.
